Family on Break
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and seventy-eight:  SEQUEL TO #291  After a first in the Sylvester household, an argument, they prepare to head off...


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 17th cycle. Now cycle 18!_

**YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY CYCLE!** - It has now been one year since I've started this Gleekathon, and I had a thought that I should do something special for it. So this is what I did: Selecting from the start of it all to the end of august (well, I had to plan! ;)), I picked my 21 favorite one shots. A number of those I was very attached to, but left sad to see may have fallen through the cracks, so it seems fair they should be recognized.

The 21 stories were split in three categories: **POV swap - Prequel - Sequel**... I think that goes without saying ;) In no particular order... **Today's story** is a Sequel to #291 "Always Family" a Sue & Brittany - the Sylvesters story originally posted August 8th 2010.

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**"Family On Break"  
Sue & Brittany **

After playing tug-of-war with her suitcase, with her mother, Brittany had packed it herself… It just wasn't to go to Boca, like her mother was. She was just putting Blippo the blue hippo in it as she heard her mother's voice in the hall, on the phone with Mrs Lopez. Sue had never met the woman, in any capacity, which made it that much easier for her to present herself as 'Mrs Pierce' instead of 'Coach Sylvester.' She didn't need to know how much lying and misdirection there was in that.

So she listened in as 'Mrs Pierce' explained how she needed to go out of town for a few days, and how she was wondering if Mrs Lopez would be so kind as to take in her daughter, seeing as their girls were so close. She'd refrain from mentioning some of the things she'd caught them doing at school, naturally… She didn't know about the ones that had taken place in this very home, and that Santana already knew the coach's little secret. Thinking of this, Brittany smiled and got back to packing.

When she closed the suitcase, heard it click shut, her argument with her mother came back to her. She had not liked having to speak that way, but it had just been stronger than her. All this time, she'd been fooled by one of only a handful of people she knew she could trust not to fool her. She knew… she knew she got easily confused with some things, but those were the people who would never abuse it… And as far as Brittany was concerned, Sue had done just that. She'd have been exactly who everyone seemed to think she was if she didn't speak up.

But then as bad as she could feel for the argument, it had let her see things… ones she needed to know about, no matter what her mother thought. She hadn't realized how she might be hurt by how much time she'd been spending with Glee Club instead of her. But she saw it in her face that afternoon… She wished she'd seen it sooner.

After Sue had hung up with Santana's mother, she'd momentarily looked in on Brittany who was packing up her suitcase… She'd wanted her to come to Boca, just for the fact that she wasn't about to leave her behind on her own for however long she'd be gone, expecting to find everything still in one piece – their home and Brittany both.

Now it was something else. She'd realized things about herself, things she had yet to consciously admit to herself, and it was then that her motivations for wanting Brittany to come along had changed. Maybe they needed this time, just them… no Cheerios, no Glee Club… the way it used to be… She remembered how happy they used to be, going on vacation together, but then, she'd changed… Maybe it was her fault her daughter was pulling away; maybe she hadn't done enough to keep her near…

Only she'd refused it… After everything, she still preferred to go to Santana's… Sue had feared that it was too late, but then her daughter had embraced her, just as she would, and she calmed. They weren't too late; she just needed time away. Sue could understand that, and she would give it to her gladly if it meant they could mend the cracks in their relationship.

She could do exactly what she'd told Schuester she would do… Relax, bronze up, regroup… She did need to think this over, to consider what she had done and still intended to do in regards to Glee Club. Maybe she hadn't considered just what having Brittany in there would mean in the end… She'd seen the signs, ignored them, now there they were. It didn't change her mind on Schuester and the general endeavor…

She had gone and packed her own suitcase, which hadn't taken long, and then it was time to start moving along. "Brittany, are you ready?" she called up the stairs. The girl appeared on the landing, suitcase in tow. Their eyes met and there was a quick moment of verification between them both… Were they really going through with this? Did either of them want to change their mind?

"Should we hug before we leave?" Brittany asked as she picked up the suitcase and started down the stairs. She nodded, first to herself and then to her daughter.

"Sure… yes," she agreed. As Brittany came to a stop in front of her, put her things down, she remembered…

"I'll check on Aunt Jean while you're gone, too." This made Sue smile.

"Tell her I'll bring her a souvenir." Brittany nodded happily, and then she hugged her mother, even stronger than before. When they both released, Sue nodded, straightened her track suit. "We better go, I can't miss my flight…" Brittany grabbed both their suitcases, and they headed out to the car. They'd be okay, she saw it now. They would need to change certain things, but she was ready for that, for Brittany's sake.

THE END

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_**This is the end of the anniversary cycle, BUT! Be on the lookout for a prequel/sequel/POV swap run on the stories between #313 and 357, which were not yet written when I selected these 21 here ;) I'm looking to set them in cycle 22, which would be in early January!**_

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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